A Hand to Hold
by TimeLordsDance
Summary: Set after Boom Town. Rose is upset about what happened with Mickey, and struggles with her conscience, but The Doctor is there to comfort and reassure her. The Doctor also gives her a hand when he finds out Margaret the Slitheen may have hurt Rose more than she let on.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Just wanted to let you know this is set after the episode Boom Town. Enjoy!**

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A Hand To Hold

After taking the egg back to Raxacoricofallapatorius everyone was quite tired after the long day. Rose sat against one of the pillars in the console room. Back pressed against the coral shaped support beam, staring straight ahead into the distance, not really paying any attention to what was going on around her. The Doctor moved around the console, playing with various controls and adjusting various dials. Jack already had swanned off to bed so it was just him and Rose in the console room. There was a calming silence besides the few clicking and cranking noises The Doctor would make as he tinkered with the TARDIS. He looked briefly towards Rose wanting to suggest that she should get a book from the library so she wouldn't get as bored, but something else caught his attention. Looking at Rose from across the room he could see the small shiny tear that was escaping from the corner of her left eye. He was certain that she was so deep in thought that she was oblivious to his stare. As the tear slid down her cheek leaving a damp trail The Doctor felt his chest tighten. He hated seeing Rose sad. Someone so special, with such a fantastic smile should always be happy. "Rose?" his voice calm yet slightly strained from concern broke the silence. "Is something wrong?"

Rose took a small breath and slowly looked up at the Doctor. Her round, deep brown eyes glistening from unshed tears. "Doctor, do you- do you think I'm selfish?" Rose asked, her voice was small and hesitant, the doctor noticed how her lower lip was quivering very slightly. As she blinked another tear ran down her cheek.

"Of course not Rose," He began to walk from across the room and bent his knees so he was now resting on the balls of his feet. "Why on earth would you ever think something like that?"

"Mickey and my mum, I just left em' behind and- and" closing her eyes she took a shaky breath trying to find composure. "I didn't even think twice about it, didn't think how much it would hurt to be left behind-" She could feel this lump of emotion in her throat, straining her every word, making it hard to breathe. "Now he hates me, M-Mickey hates me! I l-lost all my mums trust. An- and they just don't understand- they don't understand how important this is to me- How important you are to me. A- And-"She was trying really hard just to keep her breath steady now; she couldn't completely break down in front of The Doctor.

"Rose." She looked down at her lap breathing very erratically. The doctor felt his hearts ache for her. "_Slow down, slow down" _He whispered soothingly too her. She needed to be able to think straight. "Rose, look at me." His voice was gentle yet firm, he softly cupped the side of her cheek and jaw with his right hand. The rough skin felt cool against her cheek, flushed form crying. He tenderly made her move her head so she was looking him straight in the eyes. "You are the least selfish person I have ever met." Rose smiled weakly. "And don't forget, I'm nine-hundred years old." She chuckled lightly at this, which warmed The Doctor's hearts. He grinned at her. "When you left them Rose, they didn't need you. I needed you, and I still need you. You're good company, you are. And let me tell you something Rose, through all of time and space there is only just one thing you truly need."

"And what's that doctor?"

"A hand to hold." Rose smiled brightly at the doctor, the smile reaching her eyes even though they were still red from crying. She slowly reached over and took the doctors hand in her hers.

"Thank you."

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**AN: Thanks for reading! I actually had an idea for a second chapter, so that may happen. Let me know what you thought, and what i can improve on. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! So I did end up writing this chapter, I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

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_Previously:_

_And let me tell you something Rose, through all of time and space there is only just one thing you truly need."_

_"And what's that doctor?"_

_"A hand to hold." Rose smiled brightly at the doctor, the smile reaching her eyes even though they were still red from crying. She slowly reached over and took the doctors hand in her hers._

_"Thank you."_

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"You are so very welcome Rose Tyler." He couldn't help but smile at her and pull her closer into his embrace. She rested her head against the leather jacket on his chest, listening carefully to the consistent rhythm of his heart beats. His hand gently rubbed up and down her back, comforting her and soothing her. His motions continued to mover further up to the back of her neck, but as his hand made contact he heard a very audible gasp of pain come from Rose. At the sound he immediately froze and pulled back. "Rose, did I hurt you?"

"No you didn't, really doctor its fine." She replied through gritted teeth, not so convincingly.

"What's fine? What is it Rose?" His eyes showed concern but his voice was firm.

"Doctor, just stop fussing about." The pain she felt so obviously mixed with annoyance was making her quite snappy with him.

"Rose, don't be so difficult, if you don't tell me what is wrong, I won't be able to fix it." His light blue eyes stared deep in hers, urging her to tell him the problem.

"It's just my neck. That's all; it's not a big deal. I'm going to get to bed now, so I'll see you in the morning yeah?" She started getting up but the doctor took her arm firmly preventing her from getting any further.

"Rose, let me see." She turned her head back to look at him, her frustrated expression softening after seeing his pleading eyes. She gave a relenting sigh and sat down in front of the doctor. "Thank you. Now I'm just going to' take off your scarf alright?"

"Ok." She said quietly. The Doctor reached over and gently unraveled the scarf from her neck. He breathed in deeply through gritted teeth as large, purple, veiny bruises were revealed around Rose's neck. He frowned as broiling anger rose through his chest.

"Margaret." He forced out through a clenched jaw. "She did this to you."

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell me it was this bad."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well there was nothing you could do anyway, and if you knew it would just make you angry. I didn't want you to go an' blame yourself for no reason again like you always do."

"Wait, so let me get this straight. While you're sitting here with painful bruises from a Slitheen, you were thinking about not hurting _my _feelings?" The thought of that filled him with warmth. The small, fragile human has a bigger capacity of caring than both his hearts combined.

"Sort of…" She gave a small laugh and glanced down. "You're not going to go all oncoming storm on that baby Slitheen are you?"

He looked down at the bruises on her neck and frowned. "No. But what I am going to do is go all Dr. Doctor on you, and take Miss Tyler here to the TARDIS infirmary and get her fixed up and put her straight to bed." The Doctor stood up and stretched out a hand that Rose took as he pulled her to her feet. They walked across the control room hand in hand and down a few hallways till they reached a light blue door with a stainless steel handle. "In you go." The Doctor encouraged. Rose opened the door; the metal was cold against her palm. She entered the room, noticing it was sterile and white. Various glass cupboards and shelves lined three of the walls. The fourth wall had a hospital like bed against it with a metal stool at its side. A hand on her back The Doctor gently guided Rose towards the bed. "Hop up." He instructed as he turned and headed towards the cupboards, rummaging through various compartments. Rose turned her back towards the bed, putting her weight on her arms she pushed herself up.

"So you really are a proper doctor than?" Rose said as she watched him work.

"Of course I am." He still was yanking drawers open and moving things around on shelves.

"So what are you doing then? You can't really fix bruises; they just sort of heal over time, don't they?"

"AhHa!" The Doctor spun around, holding something behind his back. "Your right, I can't fix them, but these little buggers can!" The Doctor revealed what was being held behind his back. In his hand was a small jar containing small gold glowing particles whirring around inside.

"Nano-genes!" Rose exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.

"Nano-genes." The Doctor nodded in agreement. Walking towards her he unscrewed the lid of the jar and put them both on the small stool beside the bed. He let the tiny particles float out into his waiting cupped hands. Slowly moving over to her he released the nano-genes to find their way, she laughed as they danced and fluttered around her trying to find the harmed area. Finally they swarmed around her neck and settled on the bruised area, the bruised skin quickly absorbed them leaving the skin clear and flawless with a gold after glow. "There you are! Good as new!" He moved his hand up and gently stroked where the bruises had been with the pad of his thumb. She smiled brightly up at him. "Alright now, off to bed. Can't very well save the world without at least 8 hours of sleep, you humans and your sleeping schedules" He sighed as he offered his hand to her as she hoped off the bed.

Her hand wrapped in his as they walked in companionable silence down the corridors of the TARDIS finally reaching a light pink door with a white rose engraved into it. Opening the door, the dark room was illuminated by the hallway light. Looking up at The Doctor she gave a tired smile. "Thank you Doctor."

"Sweet dreams Rose." Rising onto her tiptoes she quickly pressed a quick kiss to The Doctor's cheek. Smiling and turning around she trudged through the room to her bed and just climbed onto it, too tired to even pull out the covers. The doctor, still standing in the door way smiled gently at his precious companion's peaceful face as she closed her eyes. "Rose I hope you know your nothing less than fantastic." A small smile graced her lips as she mumbled something incoherently and buried her head deeper into her pillow. He slowly walked over to the side of her bed, bending over and resting his hand on the side of her cheek he pressed his lips gently to her forehead. "Absolutely Fantastic."

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**That's it! Thanks for reading. Again, let me know what you think or how i could improve. Thanks!**


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